‘Moonlight’ leads Denver Film Critics Society awards

Juan (Mahershala Ali) advises Chiron (Alex Hibbert) in "Moonlight." The movie won multiple awards from Denver Film Critics Society, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor.

On Monday, Denver Film Critics Society announced its annual list of winners, honoring the best in cinema for 2016.

The drama "Moonlight," following an African-American child through manhood, took Best Picture, as well as Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for Barry Jenkins.

The movie also received Best Supporting Actor honors for Mahershala Ali as the boy's father figure.

Casey Affleck received Best Actor for "Manchester by the Sea" as a New England man with a tragic past forced to care for his teenage nephew, while Natalie Portman's portrayal of the widow of Pres. John F. Kennedy earned her Best Actress.

Viola Davis won Best Supporting Actress as the loyal, long-suffering wife of a blue collar worker in "Fences."

Best Original Screenplay went to Taylor Sheridan for the Texas-based crime feature "Hell or High Water."

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Movies based on Marvel Comics won dual honors as "Deadpool" took Best Comedy and "Doctor Strange" received Best Visual Effects.

Disney's look at anthropomorphized animals, "Zootopia," won Best Animated Film, and the alien-centric "Arrival" was Best Science Fiction/Horror Film.